Mr. R. Gordon Berry, 93, a 60 year resident of Windham, N.H., died Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008 at Nevins Nursing and Rehab in Methuen, MA.
Born and raised in Lawrence, MA he was the son of late Ralph and Emily (Cunliffe) of Lawrence. He received his education in the Lawrence school system and graduated from Lawrence High School in 1933.
Mr. Berry learned the sign painting trade from his father who had a storefront on Common St. in Lawrence. He was employed as a sign painter with the Coca Cola Company in Salem, NH for 25 years in charge of advertising, sign lettering, and displays until his retirement.
Always involved with helping people, Mr. Berry was a member of a number of Lodges including the Masons: Lawrence United Masonic Lodge and the Merrimack Valley Daylight Lodge in North Andover; the Scottish Rite Bodies of Lawrence, Lowell, and Boston, & a member of the Bektash Shriners of Concord, NH. For many years he would visit patients at the Shriners Children’s Hospital. He was a former member of Riverside Congregational Church where he was noted for his baritone voice and sang in the choir for a number of years as well as a local singing group the Vocalaires. He was also a former member of the Windham, NH Board of Adjustments.
He is survived by his nephew Dr. David Learned and wife Muriel of Ann Arbor, Michigan, cousin Keith Boucher and wife Diane, of Salem, NH, Cousin Edward Rothwell of Plaistow, NH, close family friends James and Carol Furneaux of Carlisle, MA, Dr. Charles and Vera Wingate of Hollis, NH, Leonard & John Crouch of North Andover, MA, and many other friends and family. He was also brother of the late Alan Berry and Edna Learned.
ARRANGEMENTS: Family and friends may call on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008 from 4 to 7 p.m.; funeral service will follow at 7 p.m. at the Douglas and Johnson Funeral Home, 214 Main St., Salem, NH 03079. Lodge members will meet at the funeral home at 6:30PM.
Burial will be in Bellevue Cemetery at a later date. Expressions of sympathy may be made in Mr. Berry’s memory to the Shriners Children’s Hospital Boston 51 Blossom St. Boston, MA 02114.